fastest vehicles known to the human race

Driven by Charles Burnet III, a British steam car nicknamed the fastest kettle in the world, currently holds the title for the fastest steampowered vehicle. In 2009, the car achieved a speed of 140 mph (225 km/h) at the Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In December 2006, pilots Klaus Ohlmann and Matias Garcia Mazzaro set a new world record for the fastest glider by reaching a speed of 306.8 km/h (190.6 mph) with their highperformance twoseat glider SchemppHirth Nimbus4.

In 2001, just a year before he died, Don Vesco, an American businessperson and famous motorcycle racer, set the wheeldriven land speed world record of 458.440 miles per hour (737.788 km/h) in his turboshaft powered streamliner called Turbinator.

Powered by a Westinghouse J34 jet engine, the Spirit of Australia, a wooden speed boat, is the fastest vehicle that has ever touched water. In 1978, Ken Warby, an Australian motorboat racer, set the record by reaching a speed of 317.596 mph (511.11 km/h) with this boat.

Another vehicle designed in Australia, the Sunswift IV (IVy) broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest solar powered vehicle at the Royal Australian Navy Airbase in 2007 by reaching a top speed of 88.5 kilometers per hour (55 mph), beating the previous record of 22 years by over 10 km/h (6.2 mph).

The Blue Flame found its way into the record books on Utahs Bonneville Salt Flats on October 23, 1970, with a top speed of 630.388 miles per hour. The Blue Flame used a combination of hightest peroxide and liquefied natural gas to power its rocket engines. Built in Milwaukee by Reaction Dynamics, the project received backing from the American Gas Association and Institute of Gas Technology, leading to its unique fuel mix. The Blue Flame now resides in the Sinsheim Auto and Technik Museum in Germany.

The Spirit of America was a recordsmashing vehicle that held its own against the Green Monster and Wingfoot Express in the 60s. Piloted by Craig Breedlove, the Spirit of America utilized a F104 Starfighter fighter jet engine, the same as the Green Monster, but with greater success. In 1965, Breedlove was able to break the 600 miles per hour barrier, a feat that had not been accomplished until then. During a failed run in 1964, the Spirit of America actually crashed, leaving skid marks for five miles before crashing into a pond. This earned the Breedlove another dubious place in the record books, for longest skid marks.

Wheeldriven landspeed records fell again in 2008, when Tom Burkland took the Burkland 411 Streamliner to speeds of more than 415 miles per hour at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Using an IC supercharged Hemi engine, the salt flats of Utah hadnt seen speed of that caliber since the Vesco Turbinator made its runs earlier in 2001. In fact, it was in 2001 that the Streamliner suffered a crash and was heavily damaged. It took years for the Burkland familys racing team to rebuild it, which eventually led to redesigns and engineering changes that made a big difference.

The Wingfoot Express made waves around the same time as the Goldenrod, and was able to set records with a speed of 413.2 miles per hour. Because it was jetpowered, the Wingfoot Expresss record was classified differently than the Goldenrod, landing both vehicles in the record books. The vehicle was powered by a Westinghouse J46 turbojet engine, originally designed for use in aircraft by the U.S. Navy. A sponsorship from Goodyear inspired the name, and the extra funding helped propel it into the record books. Later redesigns ended up seeing newer versions go faster than the original, which has since been lost.

The Goldenrod was the wheeldriven landspeed record holder for a very long time, from 1965 until 1991. Powered by four fuelinjected Chrysler Hemi engines that supplied 2400 horsepower, the Goldenrod was owned by Bob and Bill Summers, who had the help of a Lockheed engineer in perfecting its design. In 1965, the Summers brothers were able to take the Goldenrod to speeds of 409.3 miles per hour, handing them the speed record for the time. The car has since been purchased by The Henry Ford Museum and was restored. Its been on display since 2006.